Majority V.S Minority

Majority V.S Minority

“Majority wins” is common heard in our daily lives all around us. To put it simply, it means that the majority will always win because everyone has the same mindset and is doing the same thing. Hence, there is always a misconception that the crowd is always right.

Well, most people like to follow others and be in the “big” group, as they feel that they are safe and secure by doing the same thing as everyone else. In a sense, this is actually true. Conforming to the crowd definitely gives you security as if you are wrong, it means the crowd is wrong, and everyone has to take the blame together. However, if you are in the minority and are proven wrong, you will have to shoulder the responsibility yourself and even face embarrassment by other people aka the crowd.

Let me give an example to illustrate my point. If your whole class is discriminating against one single person, you are most slightly going to side the class in discrimination your classmate rather than helping him out. Here, the class is the majority while that single student is the minority. Many and in fact most people will not help that single person mainly because of fear of being discriminated and laughed at too. Imagine siding with the single person and end up being scorned at by your friends. Who would ever want to choose being laughed at when another solution, an easy and straight-forward solution; siding with the majority, is available to them?

This is human nature. Nobody wants to be ostracized, nobody wants to be left out, nobody wants to be alone in taking the blame and definitely nobody wants to face the scorns and laughter from their friends. Thus, they turn to the most feasible solution – Following the majority; with the mindset that everything is fine as everyone else is doing the same thing.

At this juncture, I must point out that the crowd is not always wrong, in fact, it is usually correct. However, following the crowd blindly can result in regrets or disastrous consequences. I feel that there is little need to highlight the importance of choosing the right crowd. Almost everybody can differentiate between the “right crowd” and the “bad crowd”. One obvious example of a bad crowd is a group of gangsters which people may join due to their thirst for power and their hunger for a sense of security.

I feel that the most important thing that needs to be highlighted is the importance of knowing when to step out of the crowd and say “Change is needed”. This is usually the most difficult task that most people find it hard to do. In fact, I must admit that I have failed miserably in this aspect too. When someone is comfortably blended into society, why would he still stand up to be different, taking the risk of being scorned at? Most people would just continue with their normal lives, blending nicely into society. However, a leader will step out and raise his opinions and views, no matter the consequences. When a true leader feels that something needs to be questioned, he will raise his concern even though nobody is doing it. Leaders are those who step out of the crowd when they feel that something is not right and strive to make that change possible.

Successful leaders are not those who follow others and change their beliefs because of the majority’s opinion. A true leader believes in himself, in what he does, and ultimately, dares to step out to lead his friends and fellow people. This is usually what differentiates a leader between a follower. A follower lets others impose their views on them and accepts things at face value. They do not think critically as to whether things are right at the moment. However, having followers are equally important as without followers, who will these leaders lead?

I am not saying that we should not follow the crowd, but I am trying to say that we should know how to make our own critical decisions before choosing to follow the crowd. Before we do something, we must always think carefully about the implications before proceeding. Our opinions and views should not be interfered by peer pressure or by the majority. If we know that the majority is wrong, we should have the courage to step out of the majority into the minority and make a change happen. This is real courage, and one of the qualities that a true leader should have.

Hence, we can see the difference between the majority and minority and reasons for people who always follow the crowd. Both the majority and minority can be correct at times, and it is up to us to decide which one is right and to make our own crucial decisions.